Plug-valve installation for tanks



.N. A-LOCKWOOD.

PLUG VALVE INSTALLATION FOR TANKS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5, I920.

1,43 ,3 9, Patented Nov. 21,1922,

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laldtfitt nnnson A. noonwoon, or oennn, UTAH..

rLue-vALvn rnsranrerion non. TANKS.

Application filed March 15, 1920. Serial No. 365,959.

'2" all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NnLsoN A. Loonwoon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ogden, in the county of Weber and State of Utah,have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Plug-Valve Installations for Tanks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention embodies improvements in plug valve installations for tanks, and has been more particularly devised with reference to the steel containers or carbonation tanks employed in the step of precipitating lime salts from saccharine juices in the manufacture of sugar, although in actual applications it may also be found to be very expedientin other spheres of usefulness. I

Heretofore, it hasbeen the common custom to mount these plug valvular elements, forstoppering the discharge outlet for the contained sugar juices in carbonation tanks, in association with. a stuflingbox arrangement and operated by bell crank levers and connections, all of which has proven to be very objectionable in actual practice, for various reasons, and an efiiciently satisfactory method of installation has long been sought for to overcome objections hereto fore met with.

The primary object of the instant invention, therefore, is to overcome former disadvantageous features, in the attainment of the ends desired, by the provisionof a novel, simple and effective manner of installation, which will not only enable the plug valve to be actuated witha direct and positive longitudinal thrust but which will also permit of a plug valve, with its stem located interiorly of a substantiallyclosed carbonation tank, to be operated positively from a conveniently accessible position eXteriorly thereof.

These and other objects-and advantages, however, will be so clearly apparent, as incidental to the following disclosure, that it would only be undesirable surplusage to further'enlarge upon the same initially, and with these prefacing remarks reference will now be immediately had to the accompanying drawings, illustratinga practical embodiment of the improvements, in which drawings- V Figure 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, of the lower portion of a carbonation tank, taken in a plane along the line 1-1 of Fig. 3, and illustrating my improved manner of installing and operating its plug foot valve; Figure 2 is a local sectional view, illustrating on an enlarged scale the plug valve seating; and Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig; 1.

5 designates the'lower peripheral wall of a tank havin a sloping bottom 6, seated on an interna annular angle-iron base rim 7, the peripheral web of which latter is riveted to the wall of the tank, as at 8, and its horizontal web being riveted to the bottom 6, as at 9.

Towards its lowermost position, the bottom-6 is provided with an outlet orifice 10 for the discharge of the tankscontents, as

desired, under control of a foot valve.

' lhe foot valve, as will hereinafter appear, ;operates as a plug closure for an outlet connection 11, having a downwardly converging conical seating bore 12 and the lower and upper coupling annular flanges 13 and 1 1, respectively.

The top flange 14: fits up against the underneath face of an annular washer 15, which underneath face is caused to be disposed horizontally by virtue of the washer being beveled on its upper face to correspond with the inclination of the bottom 6. The washer has a central aperture 16, of conical formation to register congruently as a continuation of the conical bore 12 and in open communication with the tank through the outlet orifice 10, the flange llof the coupling valve seat being securely fitted to the bottom of the tank through the interposed washer 15 and suitable stud bolts or rivets 17 all as shown in detail at Fig. 2.

18 indicates an inwardly projecting bracket arm having its outer end riveted to the inside of the tank, as at 19, and its inner end terminating with a thickened portion 20 having a squared, or other noncylindrical, bearing aperture 21 disposed in axial alignment with the conical bore 12.

The peripheral or vertical wall of the upstanding tank is cut away, at a suitable height above the outlet 10, to provide an enlarged or hand hole 22 that is encompassed by a housing 23, which latter opens outwardly through said hand hole, in substantially unobstructed disposition, and is with reference to the interior of the tank,

and being formed by the-vertical rear wall 24:, the vertical side walls 25 having circumferentially turned flange terminals 26, a

28, and an upwardly inclined top 'wall 29 having'theflange terminal 30, all of the said terminal flanges being fastened pressure tight against the inside face of the tanks wall by series of rivets 31.

, The bottom wall 27 has an upper bearing aperture 32, in axial, line with the lower bearing aperture 21, and securely mounted thereover is a valve stem bonnet, comprising a base 34- supporting an inverter U-shaped member 38, centrally ,apertured to freely journal an interiorly threaded cylindrical shank 36, provided at its lower end with a collar flange 37 and at its upper end with a hand wheel38. 1 i

The shank 36 is in reality a reduced continuation of the enlarged interiorly thread ed hub of the hand wheel 38, the bottom face of which is revolubly seated on a flattened face provided at the top of the U-shaped bonnet section.

39 is an elongated valve stem, extending through the bearing aperture 32 in association with a gland packing arrangement 35, with its upper endterminating within the housing so and being threaded, as at 0, for

operative engagement with the internal threads of the shank 36 and wheel hub,

Towards its lower end the valve stem is squared off at ll, passing through the lower bearing aperture 21 in reciprocating but non-rotatable relation,and at its extreme lower end it is formed cylindrical, as at 42, terminating in a cylindrical abutment disc 43.. j j j The lower end 4-2 thereof passes freely through a centrally bored nut- 44:, which is externally threaded to screw into a threaded socket 4 5 of a conical plug valve 4L6, the

lower portion of the socket being smooth bored, as at 4:7,,to receive theabutment disc 43 underneath the nut iti, thus permitting of a rotary seating play of the conical foot valve 46, regardless of its reciprocatory actuation by its non-rotatable stem.

From the foregoing complete description, it is believed to be apparent, without a further detailed statement of operations, that upon turning the hand wheel in opposite directions. the plug valve alternately -will be elevated with a direct rigid pull, to open thedlschargeoutlet, and reversely actuated with a direct positive seating thrust, to close the discharge outlet, whereby, with its stem reciprocating: within a substantially pressure-tight tank, the valvular element may be facilely controlled by the hand wheel exteriorly thereof in a conveniently housed position located inside the arealliinits of the tank, thus not only avoiding obj ectionable exteriorly' projecting parts but also entirely eliminating the need for a stufiing box for foot valve as'well as all bell crank lever's and c onnections. bottom wall 2? having the flange terminal I for, an inset housing that provides an open front encompassing an enlarged and substantially unobstructed opening formed in a wall of said tank, the said housingbeing projected laterally within said tank over said discharge outlet and being substantially fluid-tight with reference to the interior of said tank, a valve stem in said tank, having one end extending in fluid-tight relation throughawall of said housing, and suitably terminating within said housing, while its other endis connected withsaid valve, and means associated with said extended end for facilely actuating said valve stem from convenient position within said inset hous- 111 The combination of an upstanding tank, having a discharge outlet at its bottom with a valve and-seat therefor, aninset housing that provides an open front vencompassing an enlarged and substantiallyunobstructed opening formed in the peripheralwall of said tank, the said housingbeing projected from said peripheral wall laterally within said tank over said bottom and discharge outlet and being, substantially fluid-tight with reference to the interior of said tank,

compassing an enlarged and substantially unobstructed opening formed in the periph eral wall of said tank, the said housing being projected from said peripheral wall laterally within said tank. oversaid bottom and dis charge outlet and being substantially fluidtight with reference to the interior of said tank, an elongated rectilinearly operating 1 ,esasae non-rotatable valve stem, disposed in said tank, having its upper end extending in fluid-tight relation through the bottom wall of said housing, and suitably terminating within said housing, while its lower end is so connected with said plug valve as to permit of a rotary play of the latter thereon and means associated with the upper end of said valve stem for facilely reciprocating said valve stem and its plug valve from a convenient position within said inset housi. The combination with a tank having a discharge outlet with an associated plug valve and seat therefor; of a housing providing an open front encompassing an enlarged hand-hole opening formed in a wall of said tank, the said housing being projected within the areal confines of said tank in line with said discharge outlet; a valve stem disposed in said tank and non-rotatably mounted to reciprocate therein, with one end suitably connected with said plug valve and with its other end screw-threaded and extended into said housing; a valve stem bonnet element, straddling the extended end of said stem within said housing; and a manually controlled internally threaded element, mounted to freely rotate on said bonnet element in operative association with the threaded extended end of said valve stem, for reciprocatin the latter and its plug valve, substantiafiy as described.

5. The combination with a tank having a discharge outlet with an associated plug valve and seat therefor; of a housing providing an open front encompassing an enlarged hand-hole opening formed in a wall of said tank, the said housing being projected within the areal confines of said tank in line with said discharge outlet; a valve stem disposed in said tank and non-rotatably mounted to reciprocate therein, with one end so connected with said plug valve as to permit of a rotary play of the latter thereon and i with its other end screwthreaded and extended into said housing; a valve stem bonnet suitably mounted within said housing to straddle said valve stem and having an en larged aperture for the passage of the sterns threaded end; and a hand wheel having a barrel shank hub extension freely journaled in said bonnet aperture and being internally threaded for operative association with the threaded end of said valve stem, to reciprocate the latter and its plug valve, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

NELSON A. LOCKWOOD. 

